We meet Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza), the rather unstable
protagonist at the center of the cringe-inducing social media comedy “Ingrid
Goes West,” at a particularly low point. Camped outside a lavish wedding she
wasn’t invited to, Ingrid sits raccoon-eyed and sobbing, scrolling through the
picture-perfect Instagram photos rolling in from the event. Finally she works
up the nerve, storms through the doors, walks up to the head table, and maces
the bride in the face.
That
incident results in a restraining order and time in a mental ward, but Ingrid
emerges none the worse for wear, and it isn’t long before she finds herself a
brand-new online obsession: Instagram “influencer” Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth
Olsen).
Captivated
by Taylor’s glamorous, Boho-chic, California
lifestyle and desperate for connection, Ingrid drops everything to head west
and make Taylor her new best friend. Like a modern “Single White Female,”
Ingrid does indeed worm her way into Taylor’s life (and more importantly, her
Instagram feed). But trouble is on the horizon, as Taylor turns out to be just
as phony and infinitely more vapid than Ingrid — though in a more socially
acceptable way.
Skewering
social media addiction and the contrast between our real lives and what makes
it into the images we post online, writer-director Matt Spicer understands the
rush that comes from every “like” and new follower providing quantifiable proof
that we matter to someone out there. What wouldn’t we do to get a little more
of that sweet satisfaction?
Plaza gets
to show some range in a role that still manages to capitalize on the actor’s
intense gaze and ability to add a slight hint of menace to everything she says.
And Olsen is delightfully flighty. But the most surprising thing about Spicer’s
film is how it refuses to treat either woman as merely a punchline; both have
more layers and complexity than we expect. Best of all, though, is Ingrid’s
Batman-obsessed landlord (O’Shea Jackson Jr., practically walking off with the
entire film) who gets dragged (only somewhat willingly) into Ingrid’s schemes.
The last act
gets somewhat less interesting as a criminal plot enters the mix, and as
satire, the film’s messages can tend toward the obvious. But sometimes the
obvious should be said out loud.
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 5, 2017.
